Tag: Disease

Polio is an infectious disease spread from person to person. Polio can result in severe muscle weakness, most commonly involving the legs. In the 1950s, Jonas Salk created a polio vaccine that was used to vaccinate children across the United States. In this video, polio survivors recall coming down with … Continue reading

Smallpox was an infectious disease that caused fluid-filled blisters all over the body and had a mortality rate of 30-35%. Thanks to effective vaccination campaigns, smallpox became the first disease to be declared eradicated by the WHO on December 9, 1979. In this video, D.A. Henderson, an epidemiologist and physician … Continue reading

Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, President of Liberia, speaks to CNN about the situation in her country as it battles the devastating Ebola virus. When asked what Liberia needs to help stop the spread of Ebola, Johnson-Sirleaf responds: “Let me first say that this is not a Liberian problem, or Sierra Leone problem, … Continue reading

In this video Hawa, a 14-year-old Ebola survivor from Sierra Leone, recounts her experience of catching Ebola and surviving it. Of first coming down with the disease, she says: “At first I felt a pain in my chest. It was my heart, it was beating so fast. It was so … Continue reading

Paul Farmer is a physician and co-founder of Partners in Health (PIH), an international social justice and health organization. Farmer is best known for his work in providing healthcare to rural and under-resourced areas in the developing world. In this video, Farmer has recently returned from a trip to Sierra … Continue reading

Stephanie Fae Beauclair, better known as Baby Fae, became the first infant to receive a heart transplant from a baboon on October 26, 1984. Baby Fae was born with hypoplastic left heart syndrome, a condition which at the time was fatal without a heart transplant. In this video, hospital staff … Continue reading

Emory University Hospital in Atlanta, Georgia, treated the first two U.S. citizens to contract Ebola in Liberia. On receiving the patients, Dr. Marshall Lyon said “The first thing that goes through your mind is ‘this is a virus which is associated with a 90% mortality’. And it sort of gets … Continue reading

In 2014, Nancy Writebol was working in Liberia with NGO Samaritan’s Purse. She became the second U.S. citizen to contract the disease while working in Liberia. In this video, Writebol recalls learning of her diagnosis from her husband, David: “He came into the room and he said ‘Nancy I need … Continue reading

Dr. Kent Brantly, working with the NGO Sumaritan’s Purse in Liberia, contracted Ebola in July of 2014 while treating patients. Dr. Brantly discusses treating his first Ebola patient, who had arrived at the hospital with her uncle. Both the young woman, Teresa, and her uncle had Ebola, however Teresa’s uncle … Continue reading

Doctor Peter Piot was part of a team that first discovered the Ebola virus in 1976. In this video, Dr. Piot expresses his surprise at the 2014 Ebola outbreak, citing three reasons: that the outbreak is taking place in West Africa, that it involves more than one country and that … Continue reading